Kenn Kaufman

In birding circles, Kenn Kaufman is all but legendary.

Every time I write a bird story — oh, how I wish I had time to do more — his name seems to come up. Want someone authoritative to weigh in on the ivory billed woodpecker? Call Kenn. Need an outside perspective on the Cape May style of birding? Call Kenn.

A birder and naturalist since childhood, Kenn left home at age 16 in quest of more birds than ever. He began an 80,000-mile cross-country journey aimed at breaking the record for most avian species sightings in a single year. (For an idea what that’s like, check out the 2005 book, "The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession," by Mark Obmascik.)

By now, Kaufman has led nature tours on all seven continents. He is the creator of the Kaufman Field Guide series (on North American birds, butterflies, mammals, and insects).

For a time in the early 1980s, he lived in Philadelphia and worked at the Academy of Natural Sciences in its VIREO (Visual Resources for Ornithology) lab. His job was to create a file documenting rare bird sightings around the country.

Kaufman will be back at the Academy at 2:30 p.m. Saturday — which just happens to be International Migratory Bird Day — talking about “Wings of the Imagination: Why We Need Birds.”
He’ll also sign copies of his new book, “Flights Against the Sunset,” a memoir in which he explains his obsession with birds to his ailing mother.